Major Chinese coal railway transports 8 bln tonnes of cargo

TAIYUAN, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Daqin Railway, a major coal railway in northern China, has transported over 8 billion tonnes of cargo since its opening in late 1988, according to local transport authorities Friday.

The 653-km railway, which links the city of Datong in coal-rich Shanxi Province with the port city of Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, was officially launched on Dec. 28, 1988. It connects Shanxi and other coal-rich regions, including Shaanxi and the western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with the booming east of the country.

Now, nearly 90 pairs of heavy-haul trains make round trips along the Daqin Railway every day, said the China Railway Taiyuan Group Co., Ltd.

Advanced testing equipment, signal communication systems, and information-based scheduling systems have been fully applied along the railway, providing strong technical support for the smooth operation of the line, said a staffer with the company.

During this year's Spring Festival, this railway transported 7.87 million tonnes of coal, up 10 percent compared to the same period last year.